SI
| (a) |
Research the history of Earth's atmosphere, including the origins and sources of nitrogen, oxygen and other gases (e.g., argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium and methane) and the composition of those gases in today's atmosphere. (K, S) |
| (b) |
Model the role of atmospheric layers in insulating Earth and protecting Earth's surface from extra-terrestrial dangers such as ultraviolet light, solar wind and meteors. (K) |
| (c) |
Investigate how factors such as the oxygen and carbon dioxide balance in the oceans influence the composition of Earth's atmosphere. (K) |
| (d) |
Explain how earth scientists use data such as ice composition, tree growth, sedimentary content and landforms to infer the composition of ancient climates. (STSE) |
| (e) |
Describe the characteristics of notable climatic events (e.g., volcanic activity, Great Oxygenation Event, Snowball Earth events and asteroid collisions) in Earth's history, the impacts of those events on the composition of the atmosphere and their correlation with the fossil and rock record. (S, STSE) |
| (f) |
Investigate the function and operation of various technologies (e.g., Earth orbiting satellites, drones, weather balloons, rocketsondes and radiosondes) used to gather data about the composition of the atmosphere. (K, STSE) |
| (g) |
Determine, using archived data, whether the frequency and severity of extreme weather events (e.g., tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards) is changing locally, nationally and globally. (S, STSE) |
| (h) |
Examine the effects of El Niño and La Niña on Saskatchewan and predict their effects on future seasons based on historical data. (K, S, STSE) |
| (i) |
Hypothesize what changes were present or would need to occur to other planet's atmospheres in order to sustain life on those planets. (STSE) |
| (j) |
Recognize that methane measurements in Mars may provide evidence of anaerobic bacteria similar to those found on Earth. (K) |
| (k) |
Relate terrestrial observations of storms to similar storms on the gas giant planets. (STSE, A) |
